Books
 

Conan The Librarian wrote:
Wayne Knight wrote:

[_On the Spine of Time_]

You should really move it up your list, you won't be disappointed.


Not to be a stick-in-the-mud, but IMHO, _OtSoT_ was enjoyable mostly
because of his descriptions of some places that I had the pleasure of
visiting in western N.C. His writing style is (for me, anyway)
overbearing; he's never met a cliche he didn't like, and he seems bent
on packing as many metaphors-per-square-inch as possible into his writing.

It's not that I mind a good metaphor, but his over-reliance on them
tends to actually interfere with what he's attempting to describe.

Don't get me wrong, I've read the book several times and will
probably pack it along with me on my next trip to the Smokies, but for
someone who has never experienced the streams of the area, I can see how
the book could be less than fulfilling.


Chuck Vance (and no, I don't think I could do better than
Middleton, but that's why I'm writing on ROFF :-)

"less than fulfilling"??? guess it all depends on what you're tryin to
fill. g

middleton had a unique literary voice, and his writing was about so much
more than just fishing. i find his metaphors brilliantly conceived, far
from trite, and very effective. he's easily my favorite of his
contemporaries. i've never thought his metaphors overdone or excessive.
what are the cliches you reference?

he does restate similar thoughts in each of his books, and if you read
all of his stuff back-to-back, you'll probably notice and tire of the
repetition of the same themes. still, i wish i could discover other
flyfishing/outdoor writers as competent and engaging with words and
sentences. had he lived, i suspect middleton would have achieved
significant literary stature. if you get the chance, ask mcguane or
harrison or lyons what they think of middleton's writing.

....i don't think gierach was his equal in 1990. gierach is a fine
storyteller; middleton was an artist. sometime, take a look at rare or
limited edition fishing literature by 20th century american writers, and
compare the 1st edition prices commanded by middleton's books with those
of his contemporaries.

jeff

Books
 

On Jan 25, 7:43 pm, "Daniel-San" (Rot13)
wrote:
"Wolfgang" wrote...

"Daniel-San" wrote:

...somehow I doubted there were two people on the planet reading about
bookbinding.

Weeeelllllllll....

Not just at the moment, but I read Annie Tremmel Wilcox's "A Degree of
Mastery: A Journey Through Book Arts Apprenticeship" a few months ago.Good book. I enjoyed it as well, but perhaps for different reasons. The
insight into modern craft binding apprenticeships is what interested me. The
mentoring part...well...

Made me want to go out and get some tools (yeah, like I NEED another
****in' project!)Amen to that.

and stitch something together. Actually, I've got a

good start on it now, as I've recently DISassembled a book in order to
make it easier to scan and digitize.Oooohhhh! Was it stitched or glued? If stitched (unlikely if a recent book)
was it with thread or wire?

"Early Steps in Science" 1924 all around science textbook, geared at
about seventh or eight grade, I'd guess. Stitched with thread.

This of course was one of the "high art"
discussions that the bookbinders engaged in back about 75-80 years ago.
Still something of a controversy...well...as much of a controverys as is
possible in the book arts. I don't recommend beginning the process of buying
tools. From my limited look at that aspect of the whole thing, those tools
don't come cheap.

Well, cheap isn't really an issue......if they're cheap, they ain't
really tools.......right? :)

Wolfgang

Books
 

Wolfgang wrote:

On Jan 25, 7:43 pm, "Daniel-San" (Rot13)
wrote:

"Wolfgang" wrote...


"Daniel-San" wrote:

...somehow I doubted there were two people on the planet reading about
bookbinding.

www.horseandbuggypress.com

might interest you guys. in today's n&o, there was an article about it,
with photo showing the owner binding with linen thread.

jeff

Books
 

On Jan 26, 6:25 pm, jeff wrote:

middleton had a unique literary voice, and his writing was about so much
more than just fishing. i find his metaphors brilliantly conceived, far
from trite, and very effective. he's easily my favorite of his
contemporaries. i've never thought his metaphors overdone or excessive.

Well, let's just look at a sample from opening the book at random:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------
I plotted the travel of a single drop, watched as the wind pressed it
against the windshield,
it tumbling like a smudge of jelly along the dirty glass, bending and
curving, but in the end,
always giving way and moving down toward the rhythmic swipe of the
windshield wipers until
the blade wiped it from the glass, flicked it aimlessly back into the
wind and rain, and another
drop found its path and began to slide inexorably down the grime-
covered glass. The streams
of raindrops on the window mingled, interlaced, one flowing into the
next and into the next,
so that the windshield took on the aspect of a great map of fast-
running rivers.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------

And that's not even from the part of the book that really gets on
my nerves. :-}

Oh, well ... different strokes. My whole point was that it *is*
possible that someone could
find the book less than satisfying from a literary standpoint. If you
don't, that's great.

he does restate similar thoughts in each of his books, and if you read
all of his stuff back-to-back, you'll probably notice and tire of the
repetition of the same themes. still, i wish i could discover other
flyfishing/outdoor writers as competent and engaging with words and
sentences. had he lived, i suspect middleton would have achieved
significant literary stature. if you get the chance, ask mcguane or
harrison or lyons what they think of middleton's writing.

I'll be sure to do that. :-) (FWIW, I love McGuane's writing; he
doesn't seem
to force it like Middleton does.)

...i don't think gierach was his equal in 1990. gierach is a fine
storyteller; middleton was an artist. sometime, take a look at rare or
limited edition fishing literature by 20th century american writers, and
compare the 1st edition prices commanded by middleton's books with those
of his contemporaries.

That's fine, Jeff, but I'm not speaking for collectors, I'm just
speaking for myself.


Chuck Vance